WOR bets again on John Gambling

Mayor Bloomberg said he'll stay with John Gambling (r.) because 'you listen to what guests say.' (Appleton/News)

'If you'd told me six months ago I'd be returning to WOR," mused John Gambling, "I'd have said you were out of your mind."

But there he was Wednesday at a WOR press conference, announcing he will be the WOR morning host again as of Monday, and that Mayor Bloomberg, who joined him at the conference, will come along with him as his guest on Fridays, 8-9 a.m.

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That brings things full circle from 2000, when WOR shocked Gambling, and New York radio, by not renewing his contract. That ended a 75-year run of Gamblings on the WOR morning show: John B., John A., John R.

So this move restores a sense of historic balance, even though Gambling never left the air. Soon after WOR let him go, he landed at WABC (770 AM).

"To fit there, I had to reinvent myself," he said yesterday. "Instead of being the ringmaster, I had more opinions, more attitude. I enjoyed what I did there. But this feels like coming home."

WOR may hope he'll bring a little of that attitude back home with him. It has renamed itself "WOR News/Talk Radio," hoping to be a bigger player in a game now dominated by WABC.

Gambling is a cornerstone of that strategy, explains program director Jerry Crowley, because "he'll be the only local news/talk morning show in New York."

WABC's morning show is the nationally syndicated Imus.

Gambling says he and longtime sidekick Joe Bartlett, who has been co-hosting with Donna Hanover, plan a news-driven show, "discussing the day's headlines and hopefully talking with the people who make them."

Bloomberg discontinued his weekly WABC hour when Gambling left. He reportedly has had offers to take it elsewhere, but told Gambling yesterday he will stay with him because "you do something quite different on talk radio. You listen to what guests say and don't try to drown them out."

When WOR dropped Gambling in 2000, it said it was trying to attract younger listeners. But with first Ed Walsh, then Bartlett and Hanover, the demographics didn't change much, and the total audience has never been as large as Gambling's.

Joan Hamburg, who will follow Gambling on WOR, says his return will thrill listeners.

"There's nothing like a homecoming," she said yesterday. "WOR listeners are incredibly loyal, and they still feel like John is one of the family."

Gambling is well-regarded throughout the radio biz.

"He's a class act," says WABC program director Phil Boyce. "I wish him only the best."